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He's Home!

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We are finally a family of four again, all under one roof.  Matt came home on Saturday afternoon after his tenth day in the hospital.  It took a lot of harassing (on my part) but the doctors seemed agreeable to letting him head home after being "boring" for several consecutive days.  The doctors were a bit weary to send him home because his immune system is extremely compromised, almost non-existent.  So there was a lot of reviewing how to take extra precautions and promises that we would be careful.  Right now, Matt's white blood count is 0.8.  A healthy person has a white blood count of about 4.5 or higher.  So Matt is extremely susceptible to illness which means a lot of extra hand-washing, disinfecting and staying distanced for the coming weeks.  

We head back in tomorrow for some research blood draws and a follow up with the NP.  Hopefully Matt's blood levels will begin to go back up, this usually happens around Day +8 (new cell day was Day 0). However, this clinical trial has shown that some patients take a bit longer to build their immune system back. Luckily, they don't expect this to happen to Matt.  

The doctors don't expect a lot to happen with his myeloma markers in the first few weeks. The new CAR-T cells take 3-4 weeks to grow and begin fighting the myeloma (much longer than the average CAR-T therapy).  So in the meantime, they will continue to monitor his blood counts and begin to look for small indications that the cells are active.  Even though Matt is out of the hospital and feeling great, we still need those positive vibes that this treatment will work.  

Thank you to everyone who sent cards, gift cards, packages, and well wishes.  Your check-ins and kind messages really reminded us how big of a support system we have.  This year has been a tough one for us so far and Matt and I look forward to the day that we can repay all the love and generosity we've received. I will continue to update the blog in the coming weeks.

All our love,
Matt & Mandy

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